Handle With Care (Shacking Up 5)

I motion between us. “Well, we wouldn’t have to keep it a secret anymore, then, would we?”

“Imagine how the media would spin that. I’d be the wannabe socialite senator’s daughter who seduces the CEO of Moorehead Media. They would shred me.”

“Whoa. Where is this coming from?” This conversation has taken a swift right turn into Shitsville.

Wren rubs her eyes. “Because your mother told me I was reaching above my station by being with you, and that I should learn where my place is.”

I stop pacing the length of the living room and turn to face her. “She said what?”

Wren tips her chin up, defiance making her eyes burn. “She accused me of being a ladder climber. And that was right after she threatened to expose my family if I can’t get you to stop looking into your dad’s penthouse.”

I hold up a hand because I’m not entirely sure how to process all of that information. “My mother is blackmailing you?”

“Apparently.”

I give my head a slow shake. I shouldn’t be surprised to hear this. I should expect nothing less of my mother. I always assumed Armstrong’s sociopathic tendencies were an anomaly, now I’m not so sure. “I’m sorry. I’m really fucking confused right now. I think you need to back this bus up and start over, so I can understand why the hell my mother is blackmailing you.”

“Have a seat. We’ll start at the beginning.” She motions to the cushion beside her, so I take it.

By the time she finishes, I’m both horrified and devastated for her. “I’m so sorry, Wren, about all of this, but especially about what happened to your family. I can’t imagine how difficult that would’ve been.”

“I wasn’t even three at the time. I don’t really remember Robyn. I mean, I have pictures of me standing by her incubator in the NICU, but she only survived a few days.”

“That would’ve been awful.” All those months spent waiting for a life to come into the world, only to lose the baby days after she was born. I can’t fathom how painful that would be.

“It was. My only real memories of that time are how sad my mother was. Obviously she blamed herself for it. First she unknowingly conceives me with someone who wasn’t her husband, and then she loses the child she did conceive with him. Our relationship suffered when I was a teenager because that’s when I found out I wasn’t my father’s biological child.”

I take her hand in mine. “Wren, I’m so—”

“Sorry. I know. Me too. I wasn’t keeping this from you on purpose. It’s just not something I tend to talk about with anyone. I’m sorry I didn’t come to you as soon as your mother threatened blackmail. I needed to think. I didn’t know how to handle it, and I don’t want to drag you into my circus.”

I sit dumbly for a moment, absorbing her words. “Are you kidding me right now?”

She looks down at her hands for a moment before she lifts her chin. “I had to make a difficult choice today, Lincoln, and I needed time to sort that out before I could come to you.”

“You don’t have to make any choices. There’s no way I’m going to sit back and let my mother blackmail you.”

“There’s nothing you can do to stop her, though. If she finds out I told you, she’s going to go public with my family scandal. If I can’t get you to stop looking into that damn penthouse, she’s going to expose us. Either way, it’s coming out. There’s no way I’m going to stop you from finding out the truth about what was going on with your father. You deserve to know.”

“There has to be a way to stop her. We have to be able to do something.”

“I’ve already done something. I went to my dad this morning and explained the situation.”

“Explained how?”

“I told him I couldn’t keep this from you. That you deserved to know, and I was prepared to handle whatever the consequences might be. I care about you too much to let your mother try to scare me with blackmail.”

“You’re putting me in front of your family?” I’m pretty freaking stunned, to be honest, because the only people in my family I’d do that for are G-mom and Griffin. And maybe Bane and Lex, context depending.

“I love you. It sort of trumps everything and everyone else, doesn’t it?” Her confidence wavers for a moment, and her throat bobs with a nervous swallow. She opens her mouth and ducks her head, as if maybe she wants to call those words back.

“Yes, it does.” I cup her face in my hands, smooth my thumbs over her damp cheeks, and lean in closer. “I love you right back, Wren.” I press my lips to hers briefly. “But I’ll be honest, I really wanted to be the one to say that first, so I’m a little annoyed that you beat me to it. But considering the circumstances, I’ll let you get away with it.”